Cedar Falls Trail

Cedar Falls Trail is a 0.6-mile one-way loop from Trail Marker H through the gorge to the parking area. Allow about 40 minutes, plus a little time at the water. You reach Cedar Falls on Queer Creek and return by a rougher stepped leg. This is the short, close-up waterfall walk, not the longer routes that connect toward Old Man’s Cave or Ash Cave. The mileage is modest, but the steps make it a real hike. If uneven stairs are hard for you, or you need a stroller- or wheelchair-friendly path, skip this one.

Start at Marker H, across from the flush restrooms, then follow the yellow Cedar Falls markers. Uneven stone and wooden steps drop toward Queer Creek. From the creek, the stretch to the waterfall is easier and passes bridges, rock formations and cliff walls under hemlocks. After the falls, keep following the marked route; the tread gets rougher and another set of steps takes you back out by Marker HH and the parking area. Stay on the marked trail. Other routes leave this area too, but they continue much farther through the park.

Cedar Falls drops about 50 feet over Black Hand sandstone into a pool. Flow depends on rain and season; after a long dry spell the falls may be a trickle or nearly dry, so the gorge itself is part of the payoff. When water is flowing, frame the sandstone ledge and pool with the cascade instead of zooming in on just the water. The walk is worth doing for the close rock walls and creek even when the waterfall is running low.

The descent is called Democracy Steps. Artist, architect and mathematician Akio Hizume designed it in 1997 as a gently winding way down from the parking area. The staircase has nearly 100 steps; their lengths vary so walkers alternate the leading foot and settle into a steady rhythm. Hizume built the pattern around the Fibonacci sequence and a one-dimensional Penrose lattice. The steps use recycled material and were designed to drain well. You don’t need the math to notice how different this is from a straight flight of identical stairs.

Black Hand Sandstone was deposited more than 350 million years ago; later uplift and stream erosion carved the cliffs and ravines around Queer Creek. The waterfall gives you a close look at that work: the creek spills across a sculpted sandstone face in a shaded gorge. Hemlock, beech and maple grow around the route. A local explanation for the name is that early settlers mistook the hemlocks for cedars.